Education Foundation honors its ‘champion’

The Manatee Education Foundation awarded former school board chairman Bob Gause its top honor during the foundation’s annual annual Majorie Kinnan Partnership Awards luncheon on Thursday.

Gause, who served as the District 1 board member on the Manatee County School Board for 10 years, was presented with an Oscar-like statuette for his “outstanding contribution” to the foundation during his tenure on the board.

“We will miss his guiding voice on the school board, singing our praises and advocating for our schools,” foundation executive board member Gary Huggins said before presenting Gause with the award.

Huggins described Gause as a “champion of the Manatee Education Foundation.”

Guase said he was caught off guard by the recognition, and he was quick to turn the credit back to the organization.

“Without the foundation, last year there would have been $100,000 in grants not happening,” Gause said. “When the district was really in financial straits, the foundation stepped up and helped fund things because frankly there weren’t enough district dollars there to do that. They are a champion for education.”

The foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money from businesses and events to fund programs within the school system, was founded by former Manatee educator and board member Majorie Kinnan in 1988. The organization sponsors several programs within the school district, including 100 $1,000 Teacher Impact Grants, field trips, teacher of the year awards and several scholarships.

Several attendees at the luncheon credited the foundation with funding special services for district schoolchildren that are not possible given district budget limitations.

“The Manatee Education Foundation fills in that gap,” Greene said. “They sponsor so many events we wouldn’t be able to to sponsor and help our teachers take their curriculum to the next level.”

The foundation also recognized several business partners who helped fund the foundations activities. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Lockheed Martin, Suncoast Credit Union and Spectrum (formerly Bright House) all donated more than $30,000 in the past year to the foundation and were honored as platinum sponsors.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Education Foundation honors its ‘champion’."